Tortured, strangled, tied to a tree: Who killed Tarmara?

Adam was born in New South Wales and was educated at the prestigious Scots College in Sydney.
He has worked both in Australia and United Kingdom for some of the largest newspapers in the two respective countries.
He joined APN as a senior journalist at The Chronicle in Toowoomba in 2010, before moving to APN’S Brisbane Newsdesk in 2013 where he covered politics and court.
Adam won a 2015 Queensland Clarion Award - the state's premier journalism awards - and was named 2011 APN Daily Reporter of...

The man was described as being in his mid-20s, with broad shoulders, pointy nose and light shoulder-length hair.

Witnesses say the man was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark trousers - similar to the dress code of an event being held at Gip's Restaurant several streets away from where Ms Smith's body was located.

In the days following the discovery of Ms Smith's body, investigators dressed up a mannequin in similar clothing to what she was wearing on the night she was murdered and placed it near the scene of where she was last seen, in the hope it would jog someone's memory.

A mannequin dressed like Tarmara June Smith stands where she was last seen alive in Clifford Street, outside Grand Central Shopping Centre.Nev Madsen

Eventually police charged Ms Smith's former partner, Paul Thomas Templeton, on August 15, 2002 with her murder.

He immediately provided investigators with DNA so it could be used to match that found at the scene.

Mr Templeton, then 49, pleaded not guilty when his trial got under way in the Toowoomba Supreme Court in November, 2003.

The Crown case relied solely on glass fragments less than a quarter of a millimetre in size police claimed to have found on Mr Templeton's and Ms Smith's clothing four months after her murder.

There was no DNA, fingerprint or footprint evidence linking Mr Templeton to the scene.

The court heard there was semen found on Ms Smith's underpants but the DNA from that semen did not match Mr Templeton's.

On August 15, 2002, Paul Templeton, accused of murdering Tarmara Smith, walks to his committal hearing. Mr Templeton was convicted but the court of appeal later squashed the verdict.Kevin Farmer

I have always felt to this very day, find the guy who matches the DNA of the semen that was found on her pants, surely he has something to answer, if he is not the actual killer . . . I have always held that view.

The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating for more than 13 hours over two days, and the trial was adjourned to a date to be fixed.

Mr Templeton's second trial got under way in the Toowoomba Supreme Court in April, 2004 where the court heard the Crown's case once again solely revolved around the microscopic glass shards.

The court was also told police had colluded when gathering evidence, in particular surrounding a recording Detective Sergeant Peter Flynn made with Mr Templeton which was also central to the case.

The court heard the tape recorder had actually malfunctioned, but remarkably several investigators could remember the conversation verbatim when they eventually wrote it down in their notebooks several weeks later.

Police were also accused of planting a pair of black trousers into evidence despite not having found a pair when they searched the guest house room where Mr Templeton was staying following his arrest.

A jury eventually found Mr Templeton guilty after deliberating for eight hours and Justice James Douglas subsequently sentenced him to life behind bars.

Paul Templeton talks about being released from prison after he his appeal against his murder conviction was successful.Kevin Farmer

I think the police would admit the investigation was quite sloppy.

But Mr Templeton appealed his conviction in the state's highest court several months later on the grounds his guilty verdict was unsafe and a miscarriage of justice had occurred.

The Queensland Court of Appeal unanimously agreed and on September 17, 2004 overturned the conviction and acquitted him of the charges.

Justice Catherine Holmes said the evidence the Crown relied on surrounding the glass fragments was anything but conclusive.

"He (the prosecutor) admitted there were another two persons of interest, one in particular who was known to be in the area at the time attending a B&S Ball at the restaurant near where she was found where the men in attendance were wearing white shirts and black pants," he said.

"But they simply said they could not find him . . . to me that was simply not a good enough explanation.

"I was told through people that knew that person without much warning, actually without any warning, he put his car up for sale on the Monday and did not wait for it to sell, and went overseas.

Brodie Bailey, the son of Tarmara June Smith. Nev Madsen

"A couple of journalists and myself who covered the trial told police that, but how are you going to find him now?"

Mr Hardwick, who interviewed Mr Templeton following his acquittal and release from jail, said he did not believe he was responsible for the murder.

He said the case needed to be re-investigated as he believes the killer is still walking free.

"I have always felt to this very day, find the guy who matches the DNA of the semen that was found on her pants, surely he has something to answer, if he is not the actual killer . . . I have always held that view," he said.

"When you think about what the killer did to her, and it was a torturous murder, you would struggle to think that someone who had been intimate with her could do that."

The Chronicle attempted to contact Mr Templeton and Ms Smith's family for this story without success.

It is understood Ms Smith's son, Brodie Bailey, who was nine when his mother was murdered, is currently living in South Australia.

Mr Templeton was last believed to be living in the Rockhampton region.